For the rest of the time, Jiang Ci'an listened as Xiao Xiao told him about recent events, and for once, he finally relaxed.
Wang Dong'er hadn't just sat there watching, either. She joined the conversation naturally, taking the opportunity to complain about how ruthless Xiao Xiao was when supervising her cultivation.
Xiao Xiao didn't deny it. She merely lifted the corners of her mouth, wearing an expression that said, That's just how I am. What are you going to do about it?
As the two girls bickered back and forth, Jiang Ci'an didn't interrupt. He just sat quietly and listened.
After chatting casually until dinner was over, Wang Dong'er left first. Jiang Ci'an then sat with Xiao Xiao in the backyard for a while before returning to his room.
The door closed, shutting out the night beyond the window.
Jiang Ci'an sat down on the bed and gently let out a breath.
His relaxed demeanor gradually faded. The gentle smile between his brows disappeared, replaced by a quiet seriousness.
After work came rest. Now that he'd had his break, it was time to take care of business.
He closed his eyes and let his breathing settle. Then, with practiced ease, he sensed his Martial Soul, shifted his thoughts, and entered a meditative state.
At once, the familiar sensation of falling swept over him.
When he opened his eyes again, the familiar lawn of Blue Silver Grass stretched beneath his feet.
As usual, Jiang Ci'an first cloaked himself in "Indifference."
With his presence concealed, he activated "Perspective" and checked Tang San and Xiao Wu's locations before heading toward them.
He didn't rush to test "Time Control." Instead, he first focused on the spot between his brows.
A moment later, he reached a conclusion.
His Eye of Life had been brought into this Virtual World intact. Its gentle vitality, just as it did in reality, continued to nourish his body.
But Elder Yi wasn't here.
Clearly, even in a remnant-soul state, an independent entity like Elder Yi—one who existed within his Eye of Life—couldn't enter this Virtual World alongside him.
He'd discovered another feature of this Virtual World.
Soon, he reached Dorm Seven.
He pushed the door open. There weren't many people in the dormitory. Besides Tang San and Xiao Wu, three or four other work-study students sat on their beds, either cultivating or chatting, each occupied with their own affairs.
The domain of "Indifference" silently spread over them.
In moments, everyone's eyes turned blank and vacant. Their consciousness was suppressed, leaving behind only bodies that moved like the living dead.
"Everyone, get out."
At the command, the work-study students rose in a daze and left the dormitory, even closing the door behind them.
Now, only Jiang Ci'an, Tang San, and Xiao Wu remained in the room.
Jiang Ci'an calmly pulled over a chair and sat down. Looking at Tang San's vacant eyes, he said slowly:
"Overload the Mysterious Heaven Skill."
At the command, Tang San sat cross-legged without hesitation.
In an instant, the Mysterious Heaven Skill inside him began circulating in a way unlike normal cultivation.
His inner energy, normally gentle and steady, turned violently berserk. It surged through Tang San's body, heedless of the limits his meridians could withstand.
Within moments, Tang San's body began to swell. Fine cracks appeared across his skin, as though he were about to burst.
Blood seeped from the cracks and dripped to the floor, quickly forming a small pool.
Sitting in his chair, Jiang Ci'an watched with indifferent golden eyes. Frowning slightly, he issued another command:
"Release your restraints and speed up the circulation."
Tang San said nothing, but the energy within him surged even faster. At last, his meridians could no longer withstand the impact of his raging inner energy.
Bang!
Tang San exploded.
Flesh and energy flew in every direction, then abruptly froze in midair.
Every drop of blood, every scrap of flesh, every wisp of scattered energy hung motionless at the instant it had been flung away, like an oil painting with the pause button pressed.
Jiang Ci'an's expression remained calm. He raised a hand and loosely clenched it, then turned it gently.
The scattered flesh and energy began retracing their paths. Blood flew back, scraps of flesh rejoined, and energy flowed back into place. Everything went into reverse, like a movie being rewound.
In an instant, Tang San's body was whole again.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, body intact and clothes undamaged. Even his swollen body had shrunk slightly, returning to an intermediate stage of the earlier overload.
Jiang Ci'an calmly raised a hand and sent a strand of Soul Power into Tang San's body.
The Soul Power burst inside him, setting off the Mysterious Heaven Skill, which was already overloaded. The loss of control that should have come only at the breaking point arrived early.
Then,
Bang!
Tang San exploded again.
This time, though, Tang San's explosion was a little different from the last.
The first time, it started with his upper body. His chest burst open, then his head flew off, leaving only half his body.
This time, his lower body exploded.
Looking at Tang San, whose body had been blown clean away from the waist down while his upper body remained mostly intact, Jiang Ci'an thoughtfully raised a hand. Everything flew back into place.
Tang San's body was restored.
Then he exploded again.
Restored again.
Exploded again.
After Tang San's lower body had exploded several times in a row, Jiang Ci'an finally stopped restoring him.
He lowered his eyes to the deep-purple Soul Ring beside him, his gaze thoughtful as he murmured softly:
"I can basically confirm that, just like 'Indifference' and 'Perspective,' 'Time Control' has also been greatly strengthened in the Virtual World."
In reality, his ability to affect things externally with "Time Control" was limited by several factors, including his mental strength and Soul Power. He could only influence the local passage of time for small objects.
But in here, there were no limits.
He could pause, accelerate, rewind, and interfere with anything outside himself at will.
Jiang Ci'an nodded, then turned to look at the girl standing silently beside him, her eyes vacant.
Xiao Wu.
Looking at her, Jiang Ci'an spoke calmly.
"Sacrifice yourself to me."
At the command, the girl didn't hesitate in the slightest.
She stepped forward and embraced Jiang Ci'an from the side, her slender arms wrapping around his waist as though she meant to merge with his body.
A blazing red light rose from within Xiao Wu. Flames consumed her clothes, revealing a body as clear and lustrous as a red gemstone.
An immense torrent of energy poured into Jiang Ci'an's body, yet he felt no discomfort.
As Tang San watched, his lower body now exploded and the very idea of it reduced to nonsense, Jiang Ci'an quietly felt it all—just as before, letting Xiao Wu climb on top and do the work herself.
Soon, the Soul Power that had broken through to level twenty-three after Jiang Ci'an absorbed a four-thousand-year Soul Ring beyond his level smashed through one bottleneck after another, reaching level thirty.
Beside Jiang Ci'an's yellow and purple Soul Rings, the blood-red Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring finally condensed completely.
Skillfully controlling the power surging within him, Jiang Ci'an remained expressionless. He moved the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring in front of him, gathered Soul Power in his palm into a fine needlepoint, and began drilling into it.
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